"Every golfer's dream is to compete upon or even just see Augusta National in person," Masters chairman Billy Payne said after the inaugural event in April. "While these remarkable 88 young boys and girls earned that right this year, it is more significant that hundreds of thousands of other kids saw how much fun they had."

Each of the two local qualifiers, run by the Northeastern New York section of the PGA, is limited to 200. Deadline is five days before the event.

The top boys and girls in each age division (7-9, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15) will advance to a sub-regional, which will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, at Town of Colonie.

After that, there are 11 regional sites nationwide, and those winners meet April 5, 2015, at Augusta.

Li, from Redwood Shores, Calif. (near San Francisco), won the 10-11 girls' division. If that weren't validation enough of her ability, Li played in the Women's Open, shooting 2-under-par 142 in her sectional qualifier to earn medalist honors by seven shots. (She shot two rounds of 78 at Pinehurst and missed the cut.)

Seven Capital Region players are exempt from qualifying for next month's New York State Amateur at Bellevue. Five were able to bypass qualifying by finishing in the top 20 last year at Schuyler Meadows, including tournament runner-up Victor Fox of Normanside. The others: Dan Russo and David Hayes (Schuyler Meadows), Jim Gifford (Mohawk) and Louis Walsh (Ballston Spa). Jim Welch (Olde Kinderhook) is exempt because he is the reigning Tri-County Match Play champion and also because he won the State Mid-Am in the past five years (2011). Robby Bigley Jr. (Pinehaven), as well as Gifford, received an exemption by placing in the top five of last year's Mid-Am. ... There are 69 players vying for 17 berths in the local State Am qualifier Monday at Colonie.

Colonie head pro Frank Mellet missed a playoff by one stroke in a U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Marblehead, Mass. Mellet was the last area player to qualify, in 2011. Troy amateur E.J. Cardish, who played in the 2004 Senior Open, also was entered at Marblehead. ... Tom Falatico, a pro from Saratoga Springs, failed in his Senior Open attempt at Hartsdale.

Northeastern New York PGA members Steve Vatter of Capital Hills (161) and Ian Breen of Colonie (162) missed the cut (149) in the Professional National Championship at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Former Scotia resident Ron Philo Jr. also failed to qualify (151). Philo won the 2006 event at Atunyote (Turning Stone), site of next year's tournament. ... Invitations have gone out for the inaugural Lake George Invitational, an amateur match-play event Aug. 14-17 at McGregor. Curt Hier, the 2001 Vermont Mid-Amateur champion, is organizing the event, hoping to lure elite players from Lake George, western Vermont and the Capital Region. The field will be limited to 80. Those who are interested can visit http://lakegeorgegolf.org for details about how to request an invitation.

Elsewhere

Scotia native Laura Diaz earned $11,943 for a 49th-place finish in last week's U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst, N.C. Diaz, 39, has made the cut in eight of her 14 Open appearances. ... DirecTV has become the first major distributor to sign with the Back9Network, a Hartford, Conn.-based channel focused on the golf lifestyle. Back9Network (Ch. 262) will launch Sept. 29. There will be no live events scheduled.